Kia

In addition to its recent 7-year / 150,000km warranty announcement, Kia has created further interest with the showing of its UVO in-car voice and touch activated communication and entertainment system. Developed in collaboration with Microsoft, the system offers users an easy to use interactive hands-free alternative that uses speech recognition for making and taking calls, sending text messages and managing in-car music. Featuring a 4.3” full color touchscreen display and built-in 1GB storage with the ability to rip CD’s and MP3’s onto the system’s “Jukebox”, the open platform UVO system also doubles as a rear view camera when the vehicle is in reverse. Read More

Korean auto maker, Kia, has announced a seven-year/150,000 km bumper-to-bumper, parts-and-labour warranty for all vehicles sold and registered in Europe from January 1, 2010. This is far-and-away the longest fleet-wide warranty ever offered by a car manufacturer anywhere at any time and the move could have far reaching consequences. Brands with big reputations are charging two, five, even ten times as much for a car as Kia, yet they are clearly unprepared to guarantee their quality to the same extent, and this might well be the point the public finally understands that new price does not reflect quality, that quality is measurable, and that reputations for quality are distinctly at odds with reality. At very least, as the warranties are fully transferable to subsequent owners, Kia resale values should skyrocket. Read More

If you’re planning on choosing a roadgoing car based on racetrack results, maybe you’d better think again. With the world’s greatest off-road race, the Dakar Rally, currently powering its way through Chile, it’s interesting to note that the leaders of the event (BMW and Volkswagen) are among the least reliable 4x4 vehicles on the road, where it really counts. Newly released and highly credible information from the U.K. has revealed the most and least reliable pre-owned 4x4 and SUV cars on the market (see the top 10 lists here). Honda’s CR-V won the crown of the most reliable 4x4 by a fair margin while Audi’s A6 Allroad is the most unreliable 4x4 on the road, with Volkswagen’s Touareg and BMW’s X5 placing second and third most unreliable. That’s right folks, despite performing spectacularly in race events such as the Dakar, the VW Touareg is the second most unreliable 4x4 on the market, according to Warranty Direct. Read More

Ever thought how dangerous an unrestrained pet is in a moving vehicle? Did you know that a 35lb dog can become a 2700lb projectile in a 35mph crash? It’s alarming to think of the damage that poor animal could do to itself and other passengers within the vehicle. As increasing numbers of pet-owners take to the roads with animals in tow, safe pet travel advisers Bark Buckle Up and web-based automotive information company, Edmunds, have joined forces to release their Top Ten Pet Safe Vehicles in the hopes that their advice may avert some tragedies. Read More

There are few details available just yet but you don't need to look hard to see the Kia No3 concept is quite different to anything you've seen before. The concept features a unique extended windscreen and panoramic glass roof with a diagonal supporting bar and an automatic sun visor. If the vehicle follows Kia tradition of turning its concepts into production vehicles, we suspect this is the first foothold for a new niche in the small car market. Read More

January 11, 2009 Though it’s hard to visualize summer in Detroit right now with two inches of snow in the streets, Kia debuted an interesting open air concept based on the production model Soul, which will be arriving in showrooms in Q2 starting at US$14,000. With such a low starting price, the Soul’ster’s target market of young singles would no doubt appreciate the economical budget-priced front wheel drive concept. Designed to satisfy satisfy “multiple consumer needs”, it could be a very practical vehicle in the real world, with plenty of load space, and a two-piece top that allows passengers to expose the front and back seating areas independently. The roof may be retractable, but there are no fancy automatic mechanisms - this roof runs on elbow-grease technology, which is just fine because we think the Soul’ster looks likely to get the green light for production. Read More

Kia has rolled-out the latest chapter in its fuel-cell research vehicle development program at the Los Angeles International Auto Show. Continuing on from the Sportage Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) technology demonstrator which made its European debut in Paris this year, the new Kia Borrego FCEV boasts significant improvements in both range (now over 400 miles) and performance (154 horsepower with a top speed of 100 mph). Read More

As the curtain falls on the Paris Motor Show for 2008 we take a look back at some of the biggest surprises and brightest innovations to emerge from this massive global automotive extravaganza. As a starting point it's hard to go past Lamborghini, which emulated its 2007 most-talked-about crown by showing its Estoque concept. As a mid-engined four-door coupé with a V10 motor and permanent four-wheel drive, it's not really eco-inspired but a weapon to behold for the family man. Mazda definitely made our short-list for the most striking design with the aerodynamic Kiyora Urban compact and Citroen also floated some compelling concepts including the colorful Hypnos luxury hybrid crossover and the virtual-meets-real-world GTbyCITROEN which will appear on-screen in the next installment of Gran Turismo. Read More

The Soul Hybrid concept will be one of four world premiers from Kia at the Paris Motor show next week. Powered by Kia’s Gamma 1.6-liter petrol engine combined with a 15 kW, 105 Nm AC synchronized electric motor and the company's CVT (continuously variable transmission), the concept promises fuel efficiency of 57.6 mpg and CO2 emissions of 117 g/km. Read More

Kia is exhibiting its KEE concept car at the British International Motor Show, from July 23 to August 3. Designed by Peter Schreyer, the re-interpreted 2 + 2 coupe embodies the company’s new design philosophy – sleek, light and sporty. Read More